SECTIONS 15140-15150 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 15140-15150

15140. (a) Bonds of a school district or community college district
shall be offered for sale by the board of supervisors of the county,
the county superintendent of which has jurisdiction over the
district, or the community college district governing board, where
appropriate, as soon as possible following receipt of a resolution
duly adopted by the governing board of the school district or
community college district. The resolution shall prescribe the total
amount of bonds to be sold. The resolution may also prescribe the
maximum acceptable interest rate, not to exceed 8 percent, and the
time or times when the whole or any part of the principal of the
bonds shall be payable, which shall not be more than 25 years from
the date of the bonds.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or another provision of this
chapter, the board of supervisors of any county may provide by
resolution that the governing board of any school district or
community college district over which the county superintendent of
schools has jurisdiction, and which has not received a qualified or
negative certification in its most recent interim report, may issue
and sell bonds on its own behalf pursuant to this chapter without
further action of the board of supervisors or officers of that county
or of any other county in which a portion of the school district or
community college district is located. The county shall levy and
collect taxes, pay bonds, and hold bond proceeds and tax funds
pursuant to this chapter for the bonds issued and sold pursuant to
this subdivision.
(c) Whenever the governing board of a school district or community
college district issues bonds or refunding bonds payable from ad
valorem taxes the governing board shall transmit the authorizing
resolution and debt service schedule, including the debt service
schedule for the bonds to be refunded, to the county auditor and
county treasurer in sufficient time to permit the county to establish
tax rates and necessary funds or accounts for the bonds.

15141. When authorized by the governing board of a school district
or a community college district, bonds of a school district or a
community college district may be offered for sale as a group by the
board of supervisors of the county, the county superintendent of
schools, or the governing board of a community college district,
which has jurisdiction over the district, at a time determined by the
board of supervisors following receipt of a resolution duly adopted
by the governing board of the school district or community college
district. The resolution shall prescribe the total amount of bonds to
be sold. The resolution may also prescribe the maximum acceptable
interest rate, not to exceed 8 percent, and the time or times when
the whole or any part of the principal of the bonds shall be payable,
which shall not be more than 25 years from the date of the bonds.
Bidders shall be required to bid a lump-sum bid on all bonds as a
group. If bids satisfactory to the governing board of each school
district included in the group are received, the bonds offered for
sale shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid will result in the
lowest net interest cost for the group or for the bonds of any
district included within the group. Bonds shall be issued and sold in
the name of each school district or a community college district in
the same manner as provided in this chapter.

15142. The bonds shall be issued in the denomination or
denominations as the board of supervisors or governing board of the
community college district may prescribe.

15143. The bonds shall not bear a rate of interest greater than 8
percent per annum, payable annually or semiannually.

15144. The number of years the whole or any part of the bonds are
to run shall not exceed 25 years, from the date of the bonds or the
date of any series thereof.

15145. (a) The board of supervisors by an order entered upon its
minutes shall prescribe the form of the bonds. The bonds shall be
signed by the chairperson of the board of supervisors, or by any
other member thereof as the board of supervisors shall, by resolution
adopted by a four-fifths vote of all its members, authorize and
designate for that purpose, and also signed by the treasurer of the
county, and shall be countersigned by the clerk of the board of
supervisors or by a deputy of either of the officers. Unless the
board of supervisors otherwise provides, all the signatures and
countersignatures may be printed, lithographed, engraved, or
otherwise mechanically reproduced except that one of the signatures
or countersignatures to the bonds shall be manually affixed. Any
signature may be affixed in accordance with the provisions of the
Uniform Facsimile Signatures of Public Officials Act, Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 5500) of Title 1 of the Government Code. All
expense incurred for the preparation, sale, and delivery of the
school bonds, including but not limited to, fees of an independent
financial consultant, the publication of the official notice of sale
of the bonds, the preparation, printing and distribution of the
official statement, the obtaining of a rating, the purchase of
insurance insuring the prompt payment of interest and principal, the
preparation of the certified copy of the transcript for the
successful bidder, the printing of the bonds, and legal fees of
independent bond counsel retained by the school district or community
college district issuing the bonds are legal charges against the
funds of the district issuing the bonds and may be paid from the
proceeds of sale of the bonds.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the board of supervisors may,
in its discretion, determine that all of the required signatures and
countersignatures shall be by facsimiles, provided, however, that
the bonds shall not be valid or become obligatory for any purpose
until manually signed by an authenticating agent duly appointed by
the board or its authorized designee.

15146. (a) The bonds shall be issued and sold pursuant to Section
15140, payable out of the interest and sinking fund of the district.
The governing board may sell the bonds at a negotiated sale or by
competitive bidding.
(b) Prior to the sale, the governing board shall adopt a
resolution, as an agenda item at a public meeting, that includes all
of the following:
(1) Express approval of the method of sale.
(2) Statement of the reasons for the method of sale selected.
(3) Disclosure of the identity of the bond counsel, and the
identities of the bond underwriter and the financial adviser if
either or both are utilized for the sale, unless these individuals
have not been selected at the time the resolution is adopted, in
which case the governing board shall disclose their identities at the
public meeting occurring after they have been selected.
(4) Estimates of the costs associated with the bond issuance.
(c) After the sale, the governing board shall do both of the
following:
(1) Present the actual cost information for the sale at its next
scheduled public meeting.
(2) Submit an itemized summary of the costs of the bond sale to
the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission.
(d) The governing board shall ensure that all necessary
information and reports regarding the sale or planned sale of bonds
by the school district it governs are submitted to the California
Debt and Investment Advisory Commission in compliance with Section
8855 of the Government Code.
(e) The bonds may be sold at a discount not to exceed 5 percent
and at an interest rate not to exceed the maximum rate permitted by
law. If the sale is by competitive bid, the governing board shall
comply with Sections 15147 and 15148. The bonds shall be sold by the
governing board no later than the date designated by the governing
board as the final date for the sale of the bonds.
(f) The proceeds of the sale of the bonds, exclusive of any
premium received, shall be deposited in the county treasury to the
credit of the building fund of the school district, or community
college district as designated by the California Community Colleges
Budget and Accounting Manual. The proceeds deposited shall be drawn
out as other school moneys are drawn out. The bond proceeds withdrawn
shall not be applied to any other purposes than those for which the
bonds were issued. Any premium or accrued interest received from the
sale of the bonds shall be deposited in the interest and sinking fund
of the district.
(g) The governing board may cause to be deposited proceeds of sale
of any series of the bonds in an amount not exceeding 2 percent of
the principal amount of the bonds in a costs of issuance account,
which may be created in the county treasury or held by a fiscal agent
appointed by the district for this purpose, separate from the
building fund and the interest and sinking fund of the district. The
proceeds deposited shall be drawn out on the order of the governing
board or an officer of the district duly authorized by the governing
board to make the order, only to pay authorized costs of issuance of
the bonds. Upon the order of the governing board or duly authorized
officer, the remaining balance shall be transferred to the county
treasury to the credit of the building fund of the school district or
community college district. The deposit of bond proceeds pursuant to
this subdivision shall be a proper charge against the building fund
of the district.
(h) The governing board may cause to be deposited proceeds of sale
of any series of the bonds in the interest and sinking fund of the
district in the amount of the annual reserve permitted by Section
15250 or in any lesser amount, as the governing board shall determine
from time to time. The deposit of bond proceeds pursuant to this
subdivision shall be a proper charge against the building fund of the
district.
(i) The governing board may cause to be deposited proceeds of sale
of any series of the bonds in the interest and sinking fund of the
district in the amount not exceeding the interest scheduled to become
due on that series of bonds for a period of two years from the date
of issuance of that series of bonds. The deposit of bonds proceeds
pursuant to this subdivision shall be a proper charge against the
building fund of the district.

15147. Before selling the bonds, or any part of them, the board of
supervisors or community college district, as appropriate, shall give
notice as required by Section 53692 of the Government Code.

15148. If satisfactory bids are received, the bonds offered for
sale shall be awarded to the highest responsible bidder or bidders,
and the clerk of the board of supervisors shall prepare and certify
to all of the proceedings on file in his or her office relative to
the issuance and sale of the bonds, which transcript of proceedings
shall be delivered to the successful bidder or bidders without
charge. If no bids are received, or if the board determines that the
bids received exceed either the maximum acceptable interest rate
prescribed by the governing board or the maximum rate prescribed by
Section 15143, or that they are not satisfactory as to price or
responsibility of the bidders, the board may reject all bids
received, if any, and without further authorization from the
governing board, either readvertise or sell the bonds at private
sale.
For the purpose of determining whether or not a bid exceeds the
maximum acceptable interest rate, the interest rate of that bid shall
be deemed to be the interest rate resulting from the total net
interest cost arrived at by computing the total amount of interest
which the district would be required to pay from the date of the
bonds to the respective maturity dates thereof at the rate or rates
specified in the bid and by deducting therefrom any premium bid.

15149. The issuing school district or community college district by
action of its governing board may prepare, or have prepared, bond
brochures to serve as a prospectus for bond buyers to assist in the
satisfactory sale of the bonds, the expense of the brochures to be
payable out of the funds of the district. The brochures may be
prepared only after the issuance of the bonds to be sold has been
approved by the electors of the district pursuant to Sections 15120
to 15126, inclusive.
The issuing school district or community college district by
action of its governing board may expend district funds for the
purposes of advertising the availability of the bonds for purchase in
any publication or newspaper which in the opinion of the governing
board will give notice to prospective bond buyers that the bonds are
available for purchase by bond buyers.

15150. (a) When the governing board of a school district or a
community college district deems it in the best interests of the
district, it may by resolution, upon such terms and conditions as it
shall prescribe, issue notes, on a negotiated or competitive-bid
basis, maturing within a period not to exceed five years, in
anticipation of the sale of bonds authorized pursuant to Section
15100 or Section 15340 at the time the notes are issued. The proceeds
from the sale of the notes shall be used only for authorized
purposes of the bonds or to repay outstanding notes authorized by
this section.
(b) All notes issued and any renewal thereof shall be payable at a
fixed time not more than five years from the date of the original
issuance of the note. If the sale of the bonds does not occur prior
to the maturity of the notes issued in anticipation of the sale, the
fiscal officer of the school district or community college district,
in order to meet the notes then maturing, shall issue renewal notes
for this purpose. The renewal of a note may not be issued after the
sale of bonds in anticipation of which the original note was issued
and the maturity date of the renewed note shall not be later than
five years from the date of the original issuance of the note.
(c) Every note and any renewal thereof shall be payable from the
proceeds of the sale of bonds or of any renewal of notes or from
other funds of the school district or community college district
lawfully available for the purpose of repaying the notes, including
state grants. The total amount of the notes or renewals thereof
issued and outstanding may not at any time exceed the total amount of
the unsold bonds.
(d) Interest on the notes shall be payable from proceeds of the
sale of bonds, or from the tax lawfully levied to pay principal of
and interest on the bonds.
(e) The original issuance of notes and any renewal thereof may be
in the form of commercial paper notes. Each issuance of commercial
paper notes to repay outstanding notes shall be deemed to be a
renewal of notes subject only to the requirements of this section.